Cleveland won't ask for disclosure of felonies on job applications

David I. Andersen, The Plain DealerCleveland Mayor Frank Jackson says the city will not ask felons to disclose their convictions when applying for city jobs.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland will no longer require candidates for city jobs to disclose felony convictions on their applications.

Mayor Frank Jackson says he is eliminating a question about felony records because he does not want to punish ex-convicts unnecessarily for past mistakes. Cleveland joins about 30 other cities and counties, as well as some states, in what's become known as the "ban the box" movement, a reference to a check box on the forms.

Job finalists would still have to undergo background investigations and could be rejected for certain positions based on a criminal past. Cleveland has previously stated its willingness to give second chances, but the policy helps get around bias by managers involved in hiring.

The change took effect Sept. 14 but was not announced until this week.

"They need jobs, they need to take care of their families," said city Chief of Public Affairs Natoya Walker Minor, who works with personnel and other departments. "They need to survive."

The city routinely receives applications from felons, Walker Minor said. She said the question if a job applicant is a felon may have discouraged others from applying.

Efforts to "ban the box" began in 2004 and picked up momentum about two years ago, said Madeline Neighly, staff attorney for the New York-based National Employment Law Project. Ban the Box.09 30 2011.current.pdf Besides Cleveland, New York City and Cumberland County, N.C., signed on in the last two months.

Some of the policies apply to vendors and private employers. Cleveland's rules affect only city hiring.

Federal and state laws restrict the hiring of felons in certain areas -- for example, working with vulnerable groups such as the elderly or children. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has long warned against blanket prohibitions but only recently began discussing enforcement, said Stephen JohnsonGrove of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, a nonprofit law firm focused on reforming the state's criminal-justice system.

JohnsonGrove advised Cleveland on its new policy and worked with Cincinnati on similar hiring rules adopted last year. He said the changes allow the cities to pick from a broad pool of workers while denying employment in cases where it's clearly justified.

"I'm not trying to put the embezzler in the finance department; I'm not trying to put the child molester in the day-care center," he said. "What we want to do is make sensible decisions and be transparent about how those decisions were made."

JohnsonGrove said he recently began working with state senators to review restrictions on the jobs that felons can hold.

State prison officials are interested, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. He said the department hopes to a schedule a meeting in November with elected officials, re-entry groups and employers.

The move builds on new state sentencing reforms that divert offenders to education and rehabilitation, LoParo said. He said the changes could help steer ex-offenders to work and cut down on repeat crimes.

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